What can one do to stop procrastinating in the modern life?
The answer to this question is definitely not seeking more tips, tricks, knowledge or motivation.
Most of us are already aware of the available ideas, we just lack the will to implement them.
However, this is what has been working for me: I stopped using slot machines.
‘Well, I don’t use slot machines’, I can hear you say.
Trust me, you do. We all do.
When we refresh the YouTube or Instagram homepage, it works as a slot machine. When we read random posts in Quora, it works like a slot machine. When we go through the apps in our phone to look for the next fun thing, that also works like a slot machine.
The mechanism is the same. Uncertainty. Random rewards. Shuffling.
There’s something very addictive about it. Something very satisfying, even though we know it’s not what we really want to do with our life.
So, this will be my suggestion to any fellow procrastinator:
Shut your phone and put it away from your sight. Make a list of the things you want to/ need to do today. Start tackling them, one action at a time.
TL; DR:
Make your life boring enough and you’ll find joy in the most mundane task.
Give yourself the choice of using slot machines the whole day and see yourself feeling unmotivated to do even the things you love.
If you need a system to use your free time, maybe this idea will help:
The 30 day productivity challenge for the chronic procrastinators among us
RaihanRiad 